


Beneath The Skin

by mansikka



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Minor Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2020-01-04 04:46:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18336452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mansikka/pseuds/mansikka
Summary: Nico suffers a vicious attack by a bookcase.





	Beneath The Skin

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Day four of [Schmico Week](https://justnotperfectly.tumblr.com/post/183565550780/schmico-week-is-here); are we overwhelmed with fluff yet?
> 
> Today's prompt was _injury OR comfort_. Enjoy!

"Ow. _Shit_."

Levi looks up from the book he's reading to see Nico by their bookcase, clutching his hand. "What happened?"

"Damn bookcase."

Nico's shoulders are hunched over, and though his back is to him Levi is convinced that he is pouting. He closes his book and pushes it on to the couch cushion beside him, standing to join him.

"What did the bookcase do?"

"Splinter," Nico says as he turns, holding up his index finger wearing a definite pout. Levi does his very best not to grin at him and carefully takes his hand.

"Well. We were talking about getting new furniture."

"Yeah. This thing is getting thrown _out_."

At Nico's petulant kick at the bookcase, Levi bends his head to hide how hard he's smiling, screwing his eyes up tight for Nico's disgruntled sigh.

"It's not that bad."

"I'm an orthopedic surgeon. My hands are important to me."

"Oh, believe me," Levi says, making Nico's hand into a fist apart from that one poorly finger and kissing the tip of it, "your hands are important to me too."

It works, because the scowl on Nico's face transforms into a helpless smile that he ducks his head far too late to hide.

"Do you trust me to _perform surgery_ on your delicate finger?" Levi asks, inspecting the splinter that's firmly wedged beneath the skin. Nico says nothing. Levi looks up and catches Nico's grimace. "What?"

"I just… I don't like splinters, okay?"

Levi moves closer, clutching Nico's hand carefully down by his side as he loops an arm around his waist. "Oh?"

Nico's shoulders slump again, which shouldn't be possible. Levi is seconds away from telling him he's cute when he's sulking. "When I was little, like… maybe four? I was playing in a neighbor's backyard, and—and I pushed this gate open when we were playing hide and seek, and got this huge splinter, all the way across my palm."

Nico was an _adorable_ child, all wide-eyed and chubby-cheeked. Levi would know; every time he goes over to dinner Nico's mom delights in showing him every photo album she has, over and over, just because Nico looks so mortified for it.

"Well, that must have been a pretty big splinter."

"It _was_ ," Nico insists, looking even more petulant, and Levi has to kiss him for it.

"So what happened?"

"It got infected," Nico says, sighing. "A bit of it broke off and we didn't get it all out. It was _green_ ; I had to have it flushed out."

"How many days did you leave it like that?" Nico looks away; Levi knows this is going to be good. "Nico?"

"So maybe I was _interested_ in what it was doing to my hand. The redness, the swelling—it got so stiff I couldn't make a fist."

"Your mom—how did you hide it from your mom for so long?" Nico's mom notices  _everything_ ; if one of them hasn't shaved quite perfectly, or if they've  _had words_ before arriving. 

"I have _no_ idea," Nico says, his face softening. "But when she eventually saw it, she… well. There was yelling. And the _smell_ …"

Levi hugs him, hiding his face in his chest. Nico knows that he's laughing but only sighs for it as he hugs him back. Levi waits until the laughter bubbling in him calms then drops his chin against his chest and looks up. "Can I help you with your splinter before we get to the pus stage?"

Nico smiles, cupping his face between his hands and kissing him with his injured finger sticking out, humming his answer against his lips.


End file.
